The Doctor is Out
by animelo
Summary: MisaoAoshi pairing. Misao is a young new doctor who loses her first patient. AU some OC
1. Default Chapter

The Doctor is Out

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters . The following fic is for entertainment purposes only. It is AU and some OC may happen. I love the Misao and Aoshi pairning. I am not a professional and have never claimed to write like one. With that in mind please enjoy!

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Chapter 1

She is always alert and ready no matter what and this time she couldn't do it. She wiped the sweat off her brow. How did this happen? All the years of striving to be the best, to become what her father wanted her to be. In all her 28 years she had not known any vacations, rest or had a life of her own. All she lived for was for that one dream.

As far back as she could remember she knew she had to be the best and work hard at it.

" No pain no gain" she could still hear her father saying.

She remembers gritting her teeth every time she heard this detestable cliché. Always alone fighting through life to achieve, achieve, achieve. And now what? She's alone taking all of this alone.

Sure, she had the occasional fling with other interns during her internship but nothing that could withstand the strain of this profession. Even her father, her personal cheerleader had died a year ago. That was a blow.

She walked out of Hillside Hospital thinking about all those sacrifices. She lost the most precious thing today….today she lost a patient. Of course this was bound to happen one day. And although she knew this, it didn't make things better.

"Have a good evening Dr. Makimachi" a friendly nurse smiled and waved at Misao.

Misao simply nodded, smiled and continued walking until she reached her jeep. She wanted to get away, away from all of this. As she sat in her jeep she realized she never even changed her clothes. She was still wearing her light blue scrubs. She hated walking out in them. She always thought other doctors did it on purpose, wanting the attention from others. Misao hated that kind of attention.

"Whatever." She mumbled to herself

She started her black jeep and left the parking lot in a hurry.

The wind blew on her face. Squinting, she reached for her sunglasses without looking.

She loved her jeep. She wished she could just ride forever and leave everything behind. The sun glared down on her porcelain skin threatening to burn it.

Negative thoughts continued to race through her mind. She could already hear Megumi's disappointment. Asking whether everything was done to save the patients life. Of course, everyone did all they could.

Sometimes she truly wondered whether Megumi was actually her sister. Do real sisters treat each other like this?

She continued driving, swerving in and out of traffic like a mad woman. Ah, the outer limits of the city- the countryside. She always loved the countryside and opted to live on the outskirts of the city.

Misao finally reached home, her wonderful seclusion from the world. All she had to do was punch in a few numbers that would allow her in her small estate. Her father, when alive, had insisted that she set up a privacy fence around her country home. Nagging about how she had no "man" to protect her. Ha! Like she ever needed one to take care of her in that respect. She could always take care of herself and she knew she would always be able to no matter what.

Besides, she always knew she had Mick to make her feel better even if nobody else wanted to. He was loyal and would never judge her or leave her side. Mick, her faithful bulldog waiting anxiously for her to park and get out of her jeep.

"Hey boy" she said as she stroked the dog's head.

She was glad her father was not alive to see her failure.

She remembered the other doctors in the ER telling her to just take some time off, so she did. She finally decided to take that time she had been raking up all year.

They did tell her that with experience everything would change. Wow! Isn't that what you tell a kid when he falls off a bike? This was a bit more. She needed more. She needed something.

She walked inside her warm home. She had simple tastes and they revolved around comfort. Her rooms were all decorated in blends of neutral colors. In her living room she had deep, soft leather couches that tempted her to just flop on one and take a nap. Her bedroom also spoke of comfort with a comfy king size bed situated near her huge bedroom window that provided a wonderful view of her patio.

Misao walked into her bathroom and passed her mirror only to catch a glimpse of herself still dressed in her scrubs. "What a mess" she said totally disgusted by her appearance.

Misao never thought of herself as a beauty. Many men would happily argue with her on that point. Her big, bright blue eyes always seemed to take your breath away. She could never hide her emotions and those eyes of hers betrayed her every time. Her porcelain white skin always ached to be touched promising a soft and silky experience. Her small frame was graced with subtle feminine curves that when accentuated could turn heads when she walked by. She was not tall. She was actually quite short. And except for her current situation she always seemed to be in control, spirited and a true spitfire when angered.

She slipped out of her clothes, turned on her shower and slipped in hoping to wash away her troubles.

It was obvious to her that this kind of thing would happen. No physician could possibly be perfect. Still. She hated the fact that it had happened so soon. She at least wanted to be able to hold her own. But losing someone so soon only served to make her lose her confidence. It was hard getting this far.

She tried so hard to be strong.

She remembered all those years when she was pushed and challenged by all her professors. All those days when success seemed unreachable, she felt like crying. She felt like giving up and hiding somewhere in a dark corner. But, she never did. She always fought herself on those emotions. Yet, even after all that, here she was feeling sorry for herself for the inevitable, especially in her line of work.

She turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around her body. She walked to her bedroom, sighed and slipped on her favorite shorts and t-shirt. She still couldn't get what happened this afternoon out of her thoughts. She really hated telling her patients bad news.

The whole scenario played in her head over and over again.

Flashback

_The ER was remarkably calm that night until a rush of excitement came through the two sliding doors at 4 a.m. All the other doctors on duty with her were jumping right into action. She knew her duty was to save lives and she knew that time could not be wasted._

_Misao set to work to save the life of a woman in her late 20's convulsing and loosing precious time. The woman had just been in a car accident and she had not been as lucky as the other passengers. Misao worked along with the staff at hand to save her life. She remembered calling out for instruments and calling out orders to the nurses. Sweat on brow she continued fighting for life. Then the lifeline sounded out deafening her senses to the reality—she had lost her._

_She had failed. _

_She looked down at the woman she never knew, but would always remember. Maybe she missed something. She slowly walked away from the patient as the nurses and their aids went to work on the clean up. She walked down the hallway totally absorbed by the event she had just lived through. A nurse scurried behind her in hopes of having Misao sign the final paperwork. _

"_Just sign this Dr.Mikimachi and I'll take care of the rest of the paperwork" she smiled encouragingly. Misao nodded and signed the paperwork. _

_Maybe I forgot something. She went through what had happened and the process she learned in medical school. There had been no flaw. It should have worked. She should have lived._

_She had to tell the family. How could she face them? _

_Misao approached a man holding a small child in the waiting room. The nurse had instructed Misao that they were the family of the deceased._

"_I am truly sorry," said Misao with a knot in her throat. The man she was addressing was a tall man with cold piercing blue eyes that only allowed a few wisps of his bangs to flow over them. He only nodded slowly in acknowledgement but his eyes said all that needed to be said. He blamed her for not saving his wife. Misao knew it; she felt it in his cold gaze. _

"_Daddy, where is mommy?" asked the small child in his arms. The child had a sweet face with his fathers' eyes._

_Misao's heart stopped when she heard the soft voice question his father. Tears rolled down Misao's eyes as she looked at the child. Her gaze returned to the man, he in turn had not faltered in his gaze at Misao. His eyes would have killed her if she allowed herself to return his gaze. She felt ashamed and guilty. It was all her fault and this man knew it._

"_Daddy, who is this woman?" asked the little boy._

"_No one son. Your mommy has gone to be with the angels in heaven. She will watch over both of us from there. She will be closer to God" His eyes sparkled with unshed tears and his voice threatened to crack._

_The child's face started to contort into a mournful pout and then his beautiful eyes shed the tears his father held back. _

"_Mommy." The child continued crying_

"_I won't see her again daddy?" _

"_You will son. One last time to say goodbye"_

_Feeling at a loss and uncomfortable Misao excused herself and decided to get out of there. _

_End of Flashback _

She slammed the bathroom door shut. Ran her hands through her long, dark, wet hair and briskly walked towards the kitchen for a cold drink.

The phone rang a couple of times before Misao finally decided to pay attention and answer it.

"Hey babe, how ya doing?" a deep masculine voice spoke " Heard you had a hard day at work today."

"Hi Sano. Yea, I really did it this time."

"What? Only win one noble prize this time?" Sano chuckled and waited to hear Misao's wonderful laugh. The only thing to be heard was Misao's frustrated sigh.

"I'll be right over hun." With that said he hung up.

Sano was coming over.

He would at least make her feel a tad bit better.

Sanosuke Sagara, her college friend.

She met Sano during her undergraduate years. They had a couple of classes together and Sano had approached her and decided that they should be friends. They became great friends. They took the same basics courses and she was astounded by his lack of dedication. She remembered how he always seemed to get away with putting forth little effort in his studies. He was either a genius or very, very lucky.

He did always ask her for favors when it came to class assignments. And of course, she would never deny him help. She would do anything to help her friend.

She loved Sano dearly and he was her only friend in the whole wide world. She trusted him with her life and her dreams. He had always been there for her especially when it came to dealing with her father's death. He accepts her no matter what. Misao sometimes wonders what keeps her from falling in love with him.

People always find what he does for a living as odd. But Misao could never imagine him being anything else. Watching him deal with patients always reminds her of why she became a doctor. He has a way of making his patients forget their worries even if for only a moment to find themselves laughing at something his warped mind came up with.

He's happy being a nurse and never thinks anything of it when other men teased him about it. Misao truly admires his self-confidence. She often teases him and says she wants to be like him when she grows up. He just chuckles, winks at her and says she might if she played her cards right. Misao knows he was far from being grown up and maybe that is exactly what she liked most about the guy.

Misao flopped down onto her inviting sofa with her iced tea and began flipping through the channels. She tried desperately to distract herself from her obsessive mind. She knew she dwelled on things to the point of no end.

"But, those eyes. " she thought.

She placed her iced tea on the coffee table and closed her eyes for a brief moment.

A ring at the door startled her. Sano was at her front door. He was the only other person, beside herself, that had the code to her security gate.

She opened the door and smiled bravely towards the tall handsome man at her doorstep.

Sano was tall, handsome, and had big dark brown eyes that could entrance any willing female. Sano also had beautifully tanned skin that enhanced his well-built body. His jet-black clean-cut hair was always groomed in a spiky hairdo.

Why haven't I fallen for you Sano? Misao thought to herself as she gave the handsome man a big hug and guided him inside her home.

"How are you doing honey?" He asked, his voice openly displaying his worry.

"Well, do you want the long version or the short condensed one?" Misao asked trying desperately to sound lighthearted about the whole issue. In reality she needed Sano to console her. Who else did she have?

" Babe, tell me the version that you have been mulling over in your mind. Tell me all the thoughts you have been torturing yourself with" Sano smiled and walked towards the couch with his arm around her petite shoulders.

He truly does know me, she thought.

Sano sat down on the sofa and wrapped his arm around Misao's small waist pulling her down to sit down next to him like a little girl. She truly felt childish. She should be able to deal with this and not make such a big deal but she couldn't help it.

Misao settled down next to him and allowed herself to be comforted by the tall man.

"Well?" he said as he smiled at her.

The sunset displayed a beautiful array of colors on her huge backyard window. The day was at its end leaving behind only a memory of all its events. Misao finished telling her ordeal and closed her eyes.

"So, you just walked out?" Sano asked as he wiped a lone tear on Misao's cheek.

She nodded and closed her eyes. "I had to. I know it probably will not be the last time this happens in my career… but it was the first time."

"Misao, you knew this was bound to happen sometime. Contrary to what you might believe you cannot control everything?" Sano said

"I know."

"You know you did all you could…you know this." He stated quietly.

"Yes, but this doesn't excuse me from being the one whose to blame" she replied stubborn to remain in her misery.

"Well, if you want to be miserable go right ahead. I know you tried your best and unfortunately this will not be the last time this happens. It's a reality we all have to live with. Heck, I've felt like this whenever I've lost a patient. These kind of things happen." He sighed and ran his large hands through his hair.

"Well Hun, we talked about it and now the sun has set. You might have off tomorrow, but I still have to go in at 4. " With that Sano kissed Misao's forehead, gently gave her shoulder a squeeze, and got up. He started to walk towards the door.

"Sano, please don't leave me… I miss him." She barely let that out in a whisper, but Sano caught the whole thing. His heart ached when she acted like this. She missed her father.

He loved this woman. He had fallen for her awhile back and there was no turning back now. If only she would allow him to be more to her. He had been waiting for her and knew he would always wait for her.

Sano turned around scratched the back of his head and smiled his famous crooked smile. "So where's the mutt?" He said casually as he flopped down beside her once again.

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End of this chapter. Please send me a review. Tell me what you think. A few suggestions and thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading. Waiting for reviews before I continue.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters . The following fic is for entertainment purposes only. It is AU and some OC may happen. I love the Misao and Aoshi pairning. I am not a professional and have never claimed to write like one. With that in mind please enjoy!

* * *

A masculine groan was heard throughout the dark room. The sound of an alarm announced that it was time to begin a new day. The alarm was quickly silenced by a sharp swipe of a hand.

" Dad. Dad, you need to get up or you're going to be late."

The lumped form on the bed groaned and pulled the bed sheets in closer. "Alright, alright…I'm up". He slowly moved into a sitting position on the bed. Ran a hand through his jet-black hair and began rubbing his eyes. The room filled with white light as Ishio opened the window.

" Come on Dad. I made you breakfast and uncle Kenny called and said not to be late to your 9:00 a.m. appointment"

" He called did he?" Aoshi was surprised that Kenshin called. _I'm never late._

"I already ate, so you're the only one holding us up." He smiled. " Oh and I'm already ready and I'll be waiting downstairs"

Aoshi stood and slowly walked towards the bathroom and as if in an afterthought he turned around just as he was passing his son and ruffled his hair with a small grin on his face. "Thanks. What would I do without you?"

Ishio smiled "You'd probably always be late." With that said Aoshi proceeded to take his shower.

It's hard to believe that it has been 5 years now since she died. Ishio was just 5 then. Aoshi closed his eyes; water cascaded down his face and continued rolling down his body.

The anxiety of not knowing was what he remembered most about that night. His heart nearly stopped when he saw her big sad eyes approach him. His heart ached with the realization that his wife had not made it. No words needed to be said. He knew. She said it all with those eyes. That young doctor was too inexperienced. Her eyes. He only remembers her eyes full of sadness and most of all guilt.

_Her guilt. Her inexperience killed her._

It had been a while since he thought about that night. He remembers those eyes and those eyes are always in his nightmares. Aoshi snapped out of his memories with the knocking on the bathroom door.

"Dad are you ready?"

"Yes." Aoshi opened the bathroom door ready for the day.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" The petite woman could not hold in her excitement. She briskly walked down the hospital halls with an enormous smile on her face that would not quit.

_I can't believe they asked me to do this. This is a great. Sano is so going to flip. _

Misao almost ran down the hall towards the elevator._ I have to find Sano_. She glanced at her watch on her wrist. _He should be on his shift at this time. _

She patiently waited for the elevator, if you can call almost dancing around in anticipation waiting patiently. The elevator doors opened, she stepped in and pressed the second button intent on heading on to her best friends workstation.

Finally, she neared Sano's workstation. She could already hear his voice and the lightheartedness of his conversation with what could be another nurse. She almost ran to get to him before bursting with her news.

"Hey there. What are you doing around my neck of the woods?" Sano asked when he caught sight of Misao. She was already slightly dancing around anxiously.

"Sano, are you on break, are you going on one soon or have you already had lunch?"

"Whoa, slow down a bit Misao. Hold on" He turned around and faced another nurse with a smile.

"Jayne could you cover me? It seems I need to take my break now or Dr. Makimachi here is going to burst. Will you keep an eye on Mr. Johnson in room 210 for me? He'll need his meds as soon as he's finished eating. I told him to buzz me. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Jayne was a young brunette with light brown eyes and a slender figure. She was obviously taken with Sano. She smiled and blushed. "Of course, Sano don't worry about a thing I'll cover for you".

"Thanks." He smiled and turned around to give Misao his full attention.

They both turned around in time to miss Jayne's sad expression as she watched them walk towards the elevator doors.

Misao rushed Sano outside the to hospitals garden area between it's two wings. It was a charming small garden equipped with benches in different locations and sidewalks with handicap accessibility. They found a bench and Misao plopped down on it.

"Okay, so tell me."

"Sano you will not believe what happened today at the hospital board of directors meeting. I was ready to be bored out of my mind, like always when they started talking about the additional wing they have been planning on adding. They said the wing would be designated for burn victims since the donations were made explicitly with that objective in mind. You know that, well, to make a long story short. They are ready to break ground and are having slight problems with what contracting company to go with. It seems both companies are great and their architects are really showing them what they want to see but they wanted a group of doctors to work with them and overlook some of the plans. "

"Wait a minute. You telling me your included in these group of doctors"

"YES! I can't believe it myself. But it seems they are really impressed with my work in handling the emergency room and thought that who better than to know what is required than the doctors themselves."

"That's great Misao, but don't they have specialist for this?"

"That's what I thought, but apparently this was one of the stipulations the donor made when donating the money to the hospital. Oh and he will also be very much involved with the development"

"Misao I don't want to sound like a stick in the mud, but why did they choose you. You have only been practicing for what, five years?"

"I know. This is why I am also kind of freaked out. But they said they wanted my input since I will be working closely with that department from now on"

"This is weird Misao."

"What? Am I such a bad selection?" Misao was starting to get really irritated with Sano. She expected excitement and happiness, not doubt.

"No, no Misao that's not it. It's just kind of weird when we have other physicians with much more experience than you. You're an awesome doctor, it's just odd."

Misao frowned "It's not like I'll be the only physician they will be consulting with. I am in the GROUP of physicians that were picked. Jeez." She crossed her arms and looked away from Sano.

Sano smiled and reached over to put his arm around her shoulders.

"Now honey, I didn't mean to rain on your parade. I'm really excited for you and proud of you for being considered for this. I didn't mean to upset you. God knows we don't need you walking around upset. There could be casualties."

Misao's eyes narrowed towards Sano.

"Sano, you would be the only one I would take this out on." She gritted her response through her teeth.

"Tell me about it." He laughed as he hugged her and stood up with a huge grin on his face.

Please review and more Aoshi and Misao coming up. Please review if you like.


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